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Remembrance of Nicholas Ferrar

Dan Graves, MSL

Nicholas Ferrar lived only 45 years, but they were some of the most
unselfish years any man has given the world. His wealthy parents were
deeply committed to the Church of England and reared their children in
faith. They required each to memorize large portions of Scripture. Every
day, they read to them from Foxe's Book of Martyrs. From his
birth in 1592 until his premature death, these influences remained
strong in Nicholas. At six he had an overwhelming religious experience
in which he yielded his heart to God.

Nicholas learned quickly and studied hard, wasting few opportunities.
In his early teens, he went up to Cambridge, where he continued to pour
himself into study. So brilliant was he that his tutor prayed he
wouldn't turn heretic, because with his power as a thinker and writer,
orthodox churchmen would be hard-pressed to answer him.

Ferrar didn't turn from the faith. Forced by ill-health to travel
abroad, he continued his studies. Everywhere he went, he studied arts,
methods of manufacture, and languages. Everyone thought he was planning
some great career for himself. A princess with whom he traveled asked
him to become her secretary. He turned down her offer.

Whether he would survive to show the world what was in him, was
doubtful. Crossing German mountains, he was almost killed when a donkey
ran down a slope carrying a large piece of timber which almost struck
Nicholas. All that saved him was that the donkey slipped. The wood
barely tapped Nicholas, who would otherwise have been flung over a
precipice. In Padua and later in Marseilles, he fell ill of such severe
fevers that doctors despaired of his life. Sailing to Spain, his ship
was approached by Turkish pirates, who would probably have captured
them, if a bigger prize hadn't swum into view. Crossing Spain, he barely
escaped bandits and other threats to his life.

From Spain he was summoned home. The family had fallen on hard times
and needed him. Nicholas played a prominent part in saving the Virginia
company whose affairs had entangled the family fortune. Nicholas
mastered the business. King Charles I's council, looking for an excuse
to destroy the company, demanded a report on such short notice they
thought no reply could be given. Nicholas parceled out the work between
several people; and by all working several days on two hours sleep a
day, the huge report was made.

By similar hard work, he restored his family finances and won a place
in Parliament. But Nicholas was tired of the world. When he had set out
on his travels, he promised God to devote his life to Him if he returned
safely. Now he took steps to keep that promise. He formed a Protestant
community and had Archbishop Laud ordain him as a deacon so that he
could lead worship services. This move was seen as a great renunciation
by all who knew his capabilities. About thirty friends and family joined
him. They lived strictly, eating little, but praying and singing at set
hours. They offered education and medicine to the locals. Nicholas wrote
and translated; and the whole community bound books.

Nicholas died in 1637, declaring "I have been at a great feast, the
Great King's feast." Ten years later, the Puritans drove his community
away, burning the church organ and destroying Nicholas' writings. They
labeled Little Giddings an Arminian Nunnery and said it threatened a
return to Catholicism. He is remembered in the Anglican church on this day, December 1.